


Into the Spotlight

by dracoqueen22



Series: Truth in Advertising [7]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One)
Genre: Angst and Feels, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Sticky Sexual Interfacing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 18:48:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,887
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14219481
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dracoqueen22/pseuds/dracoqueen22
Summary: Starscream might be a tad bit possessive, but that has nothing to do with watching some stranger behave inappropriately toward Blurr. Molestation won’t be tolerated on Starscream’s Cybertron. Not even once.





	Into the Spotlight

**Author's Note:**

  * For [TheAirCommand](https://archiveofourown.org/users/TheAirCommand/gifts).



It started, as many bar fights do, with a hand lecherously placed where it had no business being placed.   
  
If later asked, Starscream would say that the pervert deserved every punch. This was Starscream’s city, these were his people, and behavior like that wouldn’t be tolerated.   
  
Starscream was especially miffed that his night had been so thoroughly derailed. He didn’t often get to spend evenings at New Maccadam’s. With the sheer breadth of his responsibilities – now more weighty since he had to run everything through the blasted council – he usually didn’t have time to spare. If the opportunity arose, however, he took advantage of it.   
  
It was always a treat to soak in the atmosphere of a relatively stable and peaceful Cybertron, especially when he could watch Blurr work while doing so. Starscream took up a perch in a corner of the first floor bar, somewhere he could see everyone. That it was conveniently located in Blurr’s path, so he could stop by for a kiss or grope if he had a moment, was purely accidental.   
  
It was a busy night. Busier than usual. Blurr was fully staffed and still found himself on the floor, weaving through the crowd to deliver tray after tray of drinks. The DJ rocked a mix of Earth, Cybertronian, and intergalactic music, and the fast beats and pounding bass packed the dance floor with thirsty Cybertronians.   
  
It was loud in here. Loud and noisy. Starscream was content to sit at the bar, sip on his drink, and keep an optic on the chaos. Business was prime, and Blurr had since hired a second bouncer. Brawl was at the door tonight, with Tall Tankor taking up duty on the second level.   
  
Sometimes, overenergized mechs could get rowdy.   
  
Crowds were good for business. Not so good for Starscream who wanted more than glimpses of his lover. He wanted a kiss, a grope, maybe a grind in the storeroom. He got none of the above. Blurr was too busy to spare more than a grin in Starscream’s direction, and it was Bluestreak who kept coming down to offer Starscream refills.   
  
There was still entertainment to be had. Jazz slipped by the bar to help out between sets and watching him stumble over himself every time he came within a couple paces of Bluestreak was hilarious. Starscream was already formulating ideas of how to encourage that little liaison. If he had to be blissfully attached, then so did Jazz.   
  
Speaking of…  
  
Starscream’s gaze roamed the crowd. He picked up Blurr’s head crest through the chaos, weaving back toward the bar. He squeezed through a gang of construction mechs loitering nearer to Bluestreak’s end and slapped an empty tray on the counter. His lips moved, calling more orders out to his bartenders. Several cubes of the cheapest high grade he had in stock were messily dropped onto the tray.   
  
Cut-rate, but effective. Someone was out to get overcharged.   
  
Starscream smirked and sipped at his drink – a high-quality engex with a hint of sweetness, enough to warm his tank without compromising his focus.   
  
Blurr hefted the tray onto his shoulder and dove back into the crowd. Starscream tracked him to a table against the wall, one packed with mechs – all Neutrals by the look of them. Civilians, no doubt, with few visible weapon docks and the kind of armor gleam suggesting they hadn’t seen battle.   
  
Blurr started to dole out the cubes as one of the mechs – a garishly pink and green vehicle of some kind – sidled to Blurr’s side. He was smirking beneath his pale visor as he slung an arm over Blurr’s shoulders, leaning inappropriately close.   
  
Starscream’s engine revved.   
  
Blurr dipped out from under the arm and tossed the mech a glare. He snapped something and the mech smiled. He held up his hands and stepped back while his friends laughed. Blurr shoved the last cube toward the group, liquid sloshing over the side, and tucked his tray under his arm. He shook his head before backing away from the table, only turning around when he was out of reach.   
  
He missed the way the garish mech watched him go, his expression a mix of lust and determination. Said mech continued to watch Blurr all the way through the crowd as if Blurr had a homing beacon on his aft.   
  
It was a nice aft, Starscream had to admit. He enjoyed groping it. He especially enjoyed watching it bob and sway as he took Blurr from behind. It was an aft not available to any lowlife in the bar to grope. Or ogle.   
  
Starscream slid from his stool, scooping up his energon as he did so. He tracked Blurr’s position, compared it to his own, and moved to intercept. He only had to glance in the table’s direction to see the garish mech’s gaze still on Blurr.   
  
Absolutely not.   
  
Blurr popped free of the crowd within inches of Starscream, and he grinned lazily once he caught sight of the Seeker.   
  
“Busy night?” Starscream asked with a raised orbital ridge.   
  
Blurr rolled his optics. “You already know it is.” He squeezed between Starscream and a customer, leaning against the bar. “Blue, I need a few shots of Toxic Temptation.”   
  
“Got it!”   
  
Starscream inched closer, curving an arm around Blurr’s waist, leaning in to nuzzle at his intake. He wasn’t usually so forward when Blurr was working, but it seemed appropriate right now. And necessary.   
  
Blurr smelled good. All heat and solvent and the buzz of his field against Starscream’s was electric. His armor was hot from exertion, his seams gaping wide for better heat dispersal. Starscream bet that if he looked down, he’d see little wisps of steam rising from those delectable and sensitive thigh vents of his.   
  
“What are you doing?” Blurr asked, sounding more amused than annoyed. He softened a little in Starscream’s grip, melting against him.   
  
“Making a point.” Starscream nipped at Blurr’s intake and moved up to brush his lips over Blurr’s. “Your customers get handsy, don’t they?”   
  
Blurr rolled his optics again. He turned his head, brushing his nose over Starscream’s cheek. “Aw, you worried about me, Starshine? I can handle myself.”   
  
“Know you can.” He nibbled on the curve of Blurr’s jaw, wishing he could just grab his partner and haul Blurr up to their tower, where no one with wandering hands could come near. “Never hurts to remind people.”   
  
Blurr laughed and took Starscream’s mouth in a fierce, brief kiss, one that tasted of mid-grade and tangy things. Starscream hummed into the kiss, pressing against Blurr, his hand tightening around Blurr’s waist.   
  
“Your possessiveness is cute,” Blurr said against his mouth. “But not necessary. I’m still coming home to you tonight.”   
  
“You’d better.”   
  
A tray clunked on the counter, a round of small glasses twinkling in the overhead lights. “Here you go, boss!” Bluestreak said cheerfully before he vanished, huffing it to the other end of the bar where two mechs waved cred chips at him.   
  
Blurr snatched up the tray and wriggled out of Starscream’s hold. “Hold on to that thought.” He winked, making a bolt of heat shoot straight through to Starscream’s groin, and dove back into the crowd.   
  
Starscream booted someone out of the stool behind him and hefted his aft up into it. He kept an optic on Blurr to the exclusion of all else, though he glanced back at the garish mech. Honestly, those colors? Had the mech never looked into a mirror before? Someone needed to tell him every single design decision had been a mistake.   
  
Now, said stalker’s ill-matching pale visor was focused on Blurr, something predatory in his gaze.   
  
Starscream didn’t like it at all.   
  
“That’s Equalizer.”   
  
Starscream turned slowly toward Bluestreak, who had paused on the other side of the bar and apparently followed Starscream’s gaze. “Is that so?”   
  
The garrulous mech nodded, and his lips twisted with disgust. “Has a hard time taking no for an answer,” Bluestreak added. “I broke his wrist two weeks ago. Didn’t think he’d have the bolts to come back, but here he is.”   
  
Starscream gave Bluestreak an approving look. Meek and mild the sniper might appear, but there was steel beneath that friendly smile. “Did you tell Blurr?”   
  
Bluestreak shrugged. “Equalizer was overcharged. He got a warning, same as everyone else.” He paused, cycled a vent, and leaned in closer, lowered his voice so Starscream had to strain to hear. “Just saying, though, you might want to keep an optic on him.”   
  
“Noted.” Starscream’s optics narrowed.   
  
He turned back toward the crowd. Blurr had dropped off his tray of drinks and was making his way back to the bar. Equalizer had left his table and looked like he was on a route to intercept Blurr. His visor didn’t once glance Starscream’s direction, though he had to have known Blurr wasn’t up for grabs.   
  
Equalizer caught up with Blurr before Blurr managed to get back. Exasperation spilled over Blurr’s face. He shook his head and pushed toward the bar, Equalizer on his heels. Annoyance made Blurr’s frown turn into a scowl.   
  
“--one dance?” Equalizer was asking as Blurr stumbled into view, Equalizer all but plastered against his back.   
  
“I’m working,” Blurr snapped and fixed Equalizer with a glare. “And even if I wasn’t, the answer is still ‘no’ because one, I’m not interested, and two, I already have a partner.”   
  
Equalizer snorted, and his optics slid Starscream’s way only once before dismissing him. “Dancing don’t mean a thing, lovely. I’m pretty sure your partner doesn’t mind if it’s just one song,” he wheedled. “Especially for a fan. Mech, I used to watch you race, back in the day.”   
  
“That day was a long war ago.” Blurr all but slammed the tray onto the countertop. “And I haven’t changed my mind. So get lost before I have you thrown out of here.”   
  
“You don’t mean that.” Equalizer lounged against the bar. “Come on. Let me buy you a drink. You’ve been working hard all evening. Can I get a pair of Spritzers?”   
  
Bluestreak, who had appeared the moment Blurr stomped into view, glanced between his boss and Equalizer, lips twisted with distaste. He served up the Spritzers anyway – creds were creds – and slid both across the counter. Equalizer handed him a chip in exchange.   
  
A rather large cred chip at that.   
  
“Keep the change,” Equalizer said with a wink.   
  
Bluestreak shuddered and vanished.   
  
Blurr sighed and scrubbed his hand over his face. “Seriously, I don’t know how I can be any more clear.” His armor drew taut, tightening against his frame, which couldn’t be good for him, considering how much he’d been moving all night.   
  
Starscream had an idea. He slid off his stool, his optics narrowing. But Blurr caught his gaze and gave a minute shake of his head. No interfering. Fine. Starscream would love to pummel Equalizer’s smarmy, gaudy face in, but this was Blurr’s bar. His turf. His rules.   
  
Starscream obediently hung back.   
  
“Then at least let me buy you a drink. As an apology,” Equalizer simpered and shoved the Spritzer under Blurr’s nose.   
  
“Primus, idiot, get it through your head!” Starscream snapped.   
  
Well, he wasn’t all that much interested in obeying anyway.   
  
He stormed forward, snatching the Spritzer out of Equalier’s hand and away from Blurr. “He’s working. He can’t drink, you moron. And even if he could, he’s clearly turned you down multiple times. So back off.”   
  
Starscream jerked back, some of the Spritzer splashing over his fingers, getting into his seams. Gross. He’d have to scrub that off later.   
  
Equalizer huffed. “Excuse me. We’re having a private conversation here. No one invited you.” He had the audacity to look offended as he crossed his arms over his chest, his visor flashing.   
  
A growl rattled in Starscream’s chest, his wings jerking upward. Before he could say a word or take so much as a step, Blurr’s palm smacked against his cockpit. Starscream jolted at the unexpected motion, his snarl dying in his intake.   
  
Blurr hissed at Equalizer. “No, you’re harassing me, and I’ve had enough of it.” His free hand whipped toward the door, pointing at it, and nearly taking out the optic of one of his customers, who’d inched too close to the action. “Get out of my damn bar.”   
  
Starscream’s hand started to itch. What the frag?   
  
He frowned and pulled the Spritzer closer to his nose, giving it a sniff. He cringed at the pungent odor, one normally imperceptible to a Cybertronian not equipped with finely tuned nasal sensors. One couldn’t be a scientist without the modification.   
  
This didn’t smell like a Spritzer. It smelled like it had been altered with something. And Starscream highly doubted Bluestreak had been the one to slip the compound into it.   
  
Pushy and didn’t like to take no for an answer? Had to be Equalizer.   
  
“I’ve done nothing of the sort!” Equalizer was arguing as Starscream’s optics narrowed, and he slammed the cube onto the bar.   
  
“Don’t let anyone drink that,” Starscream snarled at Bluestreak and fixed Equalizer with a glare. “What the frag did you put in that drink?”   
  
Equalizer arched an orbital ridge. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”   
  
“Of course you don’t,” Blurr said with an audible sigh. He grabbed Equalizer’s arm, tugging him toward the door. “Come on. You’re out of here.”   
  
Equalizer, predictably, dug in his heels. “This is a public business!” he said, too loudly for it to be anything but an attempt to attract attention. “And I have every right to be here.”   
  
“Wrong.” Starscream grabbed his other arm and tugged, much harder than Blurr had. “We reserve the right to refuse service to anyone, and right now, that anyone is you.”   
  
The crowd started to take notice of the commotion. A bubble formed around the three of them, customers looking on with interest. It didn’t help that Starscream and Blurr were two of the ones involved.   
  
“Cooperate or I’ll have Brawl toss you on your aft,” Blurr threatened.   
  
Starscream, noticing the crowd’s attention, quietly pinged his lover. ‘Hey, I’ll escort him out. You don’t want too many people seeing you treating a customer badly, right?’   
  
Blurr scowled, but his head dipped in assent. He let go of Equalizer’s arm. “I have work to do,” he said aloud. He poked a finger at Equalizer’s chestplate, right where a badge would’ve been, if he wore one. “I told you last time you were on thin ice, aft. So that’s it. You’re banned. If I see your face in here again, I’m calling the Enforcers.”   
  
Equalizer lifted his chin. “As if I’d return to this poor excuse for a bar.” He sniffed theatrically, as though they’d offended him rather than the other way around. “And get your hands off me.” He tried to jerk his arm free of Starscream’s grip.   
  
“Absolutely not.” Starscream watched Blurr ease back toward the bar. “I’m calling the Enforcers anyway. I don’t know what you put in that drink, but I’m sure it’s illegal. I should know. I wrote half the law.”   
  
And hadn’t that been a fun debate to have with Prowl? Starscream thought the much vaunted Ultra Magnus was scrupulous about laws and codices and rules. Prowl was worse. So much worse. Perhaps because he was aware of how little influence he actually had.   
  
Equalizer stiffened. He turned to face Starscream slowly, the pale light of his visor narrowing to a thin line of fury.   
  
“You’ll do nothing of the sort,” he hissed. “Your laws mean nothing because you mean nothing.”   
  
Starscream swallowed down the rage burbling in his spark. There was something wrong with this mech. “We’ll see.” His tone was cold, empty; he refused to be baited.   
  
He’d gotten soft. Complacent in the happy peace settling around Cybertron. That was his only excuse for why he didn’t dodge the blow, why stars burst behind his optics when the fist landed against his jaw, throwing him backward.   
  
It hurt, but compared to a furious Megatron, it was nothing. Starscream snatched at the mech, yanking him back before Equalizer could flee and vanish into the crowds.   
  
Equalizer spun on a heelstrut, fast for a mech with no practical battle experience, and the back of his hand took Starscream by surprise. Pain exploded in his nose, it went crunch, and the force of the smack sent him staggering. He lost his balance and tumbled.   
  
Starscream hit the ground aft-first, his jaw aching, energon trickling hot and fresh over his glossa. He’d bit himself. More damp trickled down his face from his nose. He looked up, through vision a touch hazy.   
  
Equalizer tried to escape. He pushed into the crowd. The crowd pushed back, maybe because they wanted entertainment. Maybe because they didn’t like his behavior any more than Starscream or Blurr did.   
  
Starscream dragged his hand across his face, coming away with a smear of spilled energon. His optics narrowed.   
  
He was not amused.   
  
It was time Equalizer understood what kind of behavior Starscream would not tolerate in his city.   
  


~

  
  
Blurr thought everything was under control.   
  
The harasser was going to leave, he was banned, and he’d never be allowed inside again. Bluestreak wouldn’t have to break anymore wrists, and Blurr wouldn’t have to put up with being followed from one end of his bar to the other.   
  
He’d tried to get back to work, but the sudden clamor of noise and excitement behind him had him stop in his tracks. For a moment, he thought it was something, anything else. But he’d seen the look in Starscream’s optics.   
  
Blurr sighed and shoved through the crowd, elbowing people out of the way , spark hammering in his chassis, already hearing the rumors at the back of his mind. The noise and ruckus attracted attention and people created a thick press. Everyone wanted a glimpse of the juicy gossip.   
  
Precious seconds were stolen trying to barrel through. Not for the first time did Blurr curse his leaner, lighter form. He didn’t have the sheer power to shove people aside.   
  
He finally made it, popping between two smaller mechs, and into a small clearing where Starscream was currently pummeling the life out of Equalizer. Energon soaked his face from a clearly dented nose, painting his lips and chin in it. His lips were pulled back, feral, baring his pointed denta.   
  
Equalizer was on the ground, pinned, and though he’d obviously gotten in a few lucky shots, he was no match for Starscream in full warrior mode. Optics ablaze, wings high and tight, armor clamped, field a furious ripple around him.   
  
Blurr’s spark spun a hot rhythm, sent arousal shooting through his lines. It was a totally inappropriate time for his spike to throb, but throb it did, and Blurr had to frantically deny the urge to free it. He wanted Starscream, to ride him then and there, press his mouth to those bloodied lips and taste the frenzy.   
  
It should alarm him, how much Starscream’s fierce side went straight to his array, instead of sending him into a fright. He wanted to take Starscream, not run away screaming, and maybe that was just a sign of how twisted his libido was.   
  
Arousal put Blurr in place, made him hesitate, until reality crashed in and he realized, he couldn’t stand here watching the leader of Cybertron assault one of its citizens. Even if said citizen was a harassing, near-rapist who deserved it.   
  
Blurr pinged anyone and everyone and prepared to wade into the fray. He wasn’t quite sure how he’d separate the two, but he was determined to try.   
  
That was when Jazz bounded out of nowhere, literally leaping from the shoulders of someone in the crowd. He soared through the air, tackling Starscream like Starscream wasn’t twice his size. The two of them rolled away, off Equalizer and into the crowd, which scattered like panicked mice.   
  
Blurr’s optics widened, but he was quick to rush in, because Equalizer was trying to stagger to his feet, no doubt to make a run for it. And then Bluestreak and Brawl were there, too, and it was chaos. People shouting, armor clashing, far too many optics which meant far too many recording devices and Blurr despaired.   
  
They’d be the top story on the morning news, he was sure of it. If not the evening edition.   
  
Brawl hauled Equalizer, snarling and struggling, toward the door. Someone cut the music off, and Enforcer sirens grew loud in the following silence. Or not, because the customers started chattering to each other, speculating and making excited noises.   
  
Jazz and Bluestreak had Starscream in hand, not that the Seeker wasn’t calmer now, though his face was still streaked with murderous intent. He jerked free of Bluestreak, who stepped back, his hands up.   
  
Jazz, however, held fast. He glared up at Starscream, who glared down at him, and something nameless passed between them. Something that filled Blurr with a lingering jealousy he could never quite shake whenever Jazz got involved.   
  
Jazz said something, but Blurr only caught Starscream’s reply, a snarled out, “I’m fine!” before he yanked his arm free of Jazz’s grip. His hand swept over his face, smearing more energon around. “There’s no universe where that moron could take me in a fight.”   
  
Starscream spotted Blurr then, and a shadow passed through his optics. His shoulders drifted down. “He threw the first punch.”  
  
Blurr shook his head and cupped Starscream’s face. Starscream stiffened beneath him. They were rarely affectionate in public, and this must have been a surprise.   
  
“I’m sure he did.” Blurr peered at Starscream’s face, his somewhat crooked nose, the energon dribbling sluggishly from one nostril. “Come on. Let’s get you upstairs and cleaned up.”   
  
Starscream relaxed by visible degrees. “I can handle it. You’ve got to take care of things down here.”   
  
“I’ve got it,” Jazz piped up from behind them.   
  
Blurr dropped his hands and turned to look, though he backed closer to Starscream as he did so. He felt a sudden need to stake a claim, much as Starscream had earlier.   
  
Jazz grinned, like a voltaic cat which caught the metallocanary. “Enforcers will want a statement later and everything, but I’ll get the bar cleared out for you.”   
  
“And I’ll help,” Bluestreak said. “It’s not our first fight.”   
  
No. Sadly, it wasn’t. Blurr doubted it would be their last either. Overcharged mechs tended to be rowdy mechs, especially when old wounds were brought into the picture. Old wounds, old grievances, and old romances.   
  
“Fine,” Blurr sighed. “But ping me if you need me.”   
  
He curled an arm around his Seeker’s waist, and turned Starscream toward the main elevator. The crowd started to disperse, most for the exit. He wouldn’t lose a lot of business tonight. People considered a fight entertainment. But the jovial atmosphere was gone. Only the regulars would linger now.   
  
Oh, well.   
  
“What an aft,” Starscream muttered as he swept his hand over his face again, managing to do little more than smear the energon around.   
  
“Who? Equalizer or Jazz?” Blurr asked with a little chuckle.   
  
“Both.” Starscream snorted, and it was a rather clogged, gross sound. He made a face and poked at his nose. “Fragger dented my nose. I ought to send him the medical bill.”   
  
Blurr laughed, softly this time. The adrenaline of the moment still buzzed in his lines, and he could feel it in the tension of Starscream’s frame as well. His vents were whirring, his field a buzz against Blurr’s.   
  
They’d survived a war. Dialing back down from ‘battle mode’ was never so simple.   
  
Bluestreak caught them just as the lift dinged. Starscream moved inside, but Blurr lingered in the doorway. The elevator honked its displeasure at having to wait.   
  
“You were right,” Bluestreak said, his vents noisily clicking. “There was something in the drink. A drug. I made Jazz test it.”   
  
Blurr’s optics narrowed. “What kind of drug?”   
  
Bluestreak fidgeted, his shoulders twitching up and down, like echoes of kibble he used to have. “Sorry, boss.” He nibbled on his bottom lip. “I should’ve been more careful. Watched him. I had a feeling he was shady, but I didn’t say anything.”   
  
“It’s fine, Blue. It happens.” Blurr patted Bluestreak on the arm, gentling his tone. “I don’t blame you. Just tell me what that fragger was trying to feed me.”   
  
“But I’m the bartender!” Bluestreak blurted out, and his optics grew big and round, shimmering with emotion. “It’s my responsibility to watch out for these things, to protect our customers. They trust me to serve them good drinks and--”  
  
Blurr cut off the diatribe before it could devolve into a wail. Bluestreak’s vents were rapid enough as it was. “I promise, it’s okay,” he said. “Something tells me Equalizer is a career criminal. You couldn’t have known.”   
  
“I will next time,” Bluestreak huffed, and his optics flashed, his jaw setting in a stubborn cant that seemed all too familiar.   
  
Blurr inclined his head. “Yes, you will. Now, the drug…?”  
  
“Right. It was a tranquilizer.” Bluestreak’s nose wrinkled, and his lips twisted with disgust. “Mixed with hypnotics. Jazz says it would’ve made you nice and pliable. You would’ve said yes to anything.”   
  
Blurr shuddered at the thought. Not that he’d ever drink anything a customer bought for him, but Equalizer could have offered that to anyone in his bar. Could have drugged anyone and assaulted them. Had possibly already done so with Blurr and his staff none the wiser, because this was post-war Cybertron, and maybe the victims didn’t know they should or could report it.   
  
Bluestreak was right to be upset.   
  
Starscream hissed and his field spiked with anger. “I should have hit him harder.”   
  
The sheer menace in his tone made Blurr’s internals thump with heat all over again. His spike pinged against his panel.   
  
“Yeah,” Bluestreak agreed, and his tone was equally murderous. “I should’ve done more than break his wrist.”   
  
Starscream tossed Bluestreak an approving look. “Good call.”   
  
“All right, that’s enough violence you two.” Blurr shook his head and stepped into the elevator so the door would shut. “Blue, call me if you need anything. I’ll come back down later and make sure everything’s settled.”   
  
“Sure thing, boss!”   
  
The door closed on Bluestreak’s bright grin and cheerful wave, completely at odds with the threat in his tone not but a few seconds earlier. Gave Blurr the chills it did. How Bluestreak could be this bright mech you felt like you needed to protect, but also turn around and become this dark thing Blurr didn’t understand.   
  
Not even Jazz creeped him out the way Bluestreak did.   
  
The lift started to rise. Blurr caught his balance and closed the distance between himself and Starscream, his fingers gentle as they brushed over the curve of Starscream’s jaw. His dermal layer was already starting to darken where the nanite layer beneath had been damaged.   
  
“Sure you’re okay?” he asked.   
  
Starscream grunted. “Yeah.” He tilted into Blurr’s touch, however, a little smile on his energon stained lips. “I’ll be sore for a couple days, but I’ll live. He got lucky. And I’ve gotten complacent.” He tried to scowl, but it came out lopsided, one cheek too swollen to pull it off properly. He winced instead.   
  
“We all are, I think,” Blurr replied, fingers still stroking Starscream, moving down to his sensitive intake, to the warmth of him. They were so close; he swore he could taste the battle-charge in the air. “No war. It happens.”   
  
Starscream made a noncommittal noise. “Should still be prepared. Just in case.” His gaze slid to Blurr, and there was a shadow of something in his optics. “The war’s over, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t any danger.”   
  
He didn’t say it, but Blurr knew what he meant. Obsidian, after all, had caused his damage during a time of peace.   
  
“You still handled yourself fine,” Blurr said as the lift bumped to a stop and dinged as it deposited them at the penthouse. He grabbed Starscream’s hand, towing his Seeker out with him.   
  
“Against that cretin? Of course. But against a real opponent?” Starscream shook his head, his fingers briefly tightening around Blurr’s. “I’m going to make time for training. I won’t be caught off guard again.”   
  
The door opened to Blurr’s palm, and he tugged Starscream inside, need coiling into a tighter desperation inside of him.   
  
“But honestly, I’m fine,” Starscream added, as though the tight grip Blurr had on him was worrying. “A shower and some recharge and this’ll all be a memory. Or a bad dream.” The last was added as a mutter.   
  
“I’m glad you’re fine,” Blurr said.  
  
As the door clicked shut behind them, locking them inside, he spun and pulled Starscream into his arms.   
  
He backed the Seeker against the wall, one hand cupping Starscream’s face, thumb sweeping over his chin. Energon had dried in lurid smears around Starscream’s lips and nose, and it was hardly the most attractive Blurr had ever seen his lover. Somehow, that only made him want Starscream more.   
  
Starscream gave him a confused look. “Wha--”  
  
Blurr swallowed his words with a kiss. It was as gentle as he could manage, what with the hunger in his lines and the throb of his spark. He pressed against Starscream, licked against his lips, plunged his glossa inside and coaxed Starscream out to play.   
  
Starscream sucked air into his mouth, and his glossa retreated, his fingers flexing on Blurr’s hips. “Sore,” he mumbled into the kiss.   
  
“Sorry,” Blurr murmured. He tried to rein himself in, though the temptation to lean on an inner ferocity swelled in his lines. “I’ll be gentler.”   
  
Starscream hummed appreciation in his intake. He pulled Blurr closer, glossa at last joining the kiss with a tentative, careful slide.   
  
The scent of spilled energon was strong, the taste of it even more so. Blurr thought he should be disgusted, but it only turned him on more. Starscream had gotten injured protecting him. The energon was proof of Starscream’s affection. It was a walk on the wild side.   
  
Blurr moaned and nipped at Starscream’s lips, pressing him harder against the wall. He rocked against Starscream, heat building in his groin, spike threatening to emerge, valve lubricating. He couldn’t decide which he wanted to use more.   
  
Starscream made a muffled noise. His hands clutched at Blurr’s sides, but they didn’t try to push him away. If anything, Starscream relented, giving in to Blurr’s urgency. His field went all warm and shivery.   
  
Perfect.   
  
Blurr broke off the kiss, nibbled his way to Starscream’s intake, inhaled the scent of him. Primus, he smelled good. “Want you,” he muttered against Starscream’s cables.   
  
“I can see that,” Starscream said dryly. His hands slid down to Blurr’s hips, pulling them together.   
  
“Do you mind?” Blurr rolled his hips against Starscream, his spike popping free before he could stop it. He left a streak of damp over Starscream’s cover.   
  
Starscream chuckled and tilted his head back. “The wall, yes. You? Never.”   
  
Fair enough.   
  
Blurr nipped Starscream’s cables and drew back, tugging Starscream with him. He spun the Seeker around, guiding him backward, toward the living area. Starscream’s wings twitched, clear signs of his interest, and his fans spun audibly. His field was a hot flicker against Blurr’s.   
  
“Primus, do you have any idea how sexy you are?” Blurr murmured as need overwhelmed him, and he caught Starscream up in another kiss, causing them both to stumble.   
  
They weren’t going to make it to the bedroom.   
  
Starscream made a muffled noise against his mouth, but he relented to the urgency of Blurr’s kiss. Even as he ran his glossa over Starscream’s lips, his denta, tasting the fierceness of him. Blurr grabbed Starscream’s aft, slamming their hips together, smooshing his spike between them. He shuddered with want.   
  
He needed a surface. His spike throbbed.   
  
Blurr gasped out another ‘want you’ and somehow managed to get them moving again, stumbling backward into the living area. They navigated the central table and then the couch was there, and the back of Starscream’s knees hit it.   
  
A startled sound rose in Starscream’s intake. He tumbled backward, landing asprawl on the couch, face flushed and wings twitching. Blurr’s prefluid streaked his abdomen and thighs – thighs which parted as if inviting Blurr to move between them.   
  
He climbed onto the couch after Starscream, feeling very much like a predator, notching himself between those gorgeous legs. He pressed his mouth against Starscream’s groin and dragged it upward, over Starscream’s belly, his cockpit, the seam of his chestplate.   
  
Starscream clutched at his shoulders, thighs pressing in on Blurr’s waist. There was a click as his valve opened, the tangy scent of his lubricant floating up to Blurr’s nose. He was already aroused. Primus, that set a fire in Blurr’s engine.   
  
Blurr growled and bit at Starscream’s intake, his hands gripping Starscream’s hips, pulling Starscream against him. His spike nudged at Starscream’s valve, the head of it slipping and sliding over his rim. Playing in the lubricant, teasing his node, as Starscream gasped and arched against him.   
  
“Want you,” Blurr repeated. He sounded like an idiot, a broken machine, but it was the honest truth. “You’re so damn hot like this. I gotta have you. Can I? Please say I can.”   
  
He was babbling, he knew it, but the hunger bubbled up inside of him, like an inferno he couldn’t escape. He rolled his hips again, spikehead grinding over Starscream’s valve, his spike throbbing with need. He’d beg if he had to.   
  
Starscream’s thighs tightened around him, heels drumming against the back of Blurr’s legs. “Yes,” he gasped out, field slamming against Blurr’s, a tidal wave of desire and equal want. “Damn it, Blurr. You already know you can.”   
  
Words rushed in Blurr’s audials. But he’d heard a yes, he knew he had. He groaned as he pulled back, aimed, and pushed into Starscream in one long, slow thrust. Gripping heat instantly surrounded his spike, crackling with charge, and his groan turned into a moan, his face buried against Starscream’s intake cables.   
  
Starscream arched against him, dragged him closer, his hips rocking up to meet Blurr’s thrusts in equal need. His valve clamped around Blurr, rhythmically milking him and Blurr let loose a staticky moan. His hips moved of their own accord, erratically pumping into Starscream, chasing after an overload that seemed imminent.   
  
He kissed Starscream, sloppy and hurried, tasting spilled energon on his glossa. He was supposed to be gentle. He couldn’t remember how. It should have horrified him. It didn’t. It tasted like power and control, like the very essence of what made Starscream such a brilliant warrior.   
  
And he knew, that Starscream had been angry because the drink was drugged. But Blurr also knew, that wasn’t just it. Starscream’s possessiveness had always been apparent. He’d done it to protect Blurr, more than anyone else.   
  
Blurr’s lines went ablaze with need. He groaned, fingers tightening on Starscream’s hips, yanking him into each thrust, pinning Starscream against the couch. He felt like something wild, but the slam of their frames together was pure rapture. Starscream squirmed beneath him, goading with every twitch of his frame.   
  
Blurr panted, pressed the side of his face to Starscream’s, felt the ecstasy rush up from his feet through his entire frame. It bowled him over, nearly knocking him flat, and he moaned as he slammed deep into Starscream and overloaded. Transfluid jetted from his spike, spurting in Starscream’s valve, and on the edge of his roaring pleasure, he felt Starscream join him.   
  
Felt claws scratch against his armor, felt Starscream’s thighs tighten hard enough to make his armor creak, felt the way Starscream’s valve spiraled down around him, as though determined to trap his spill inside. Blurr’s spark went supernova, dragging out another smaller overload, tensing every hydraulic line, until he was spent and all he could do was collapse on top of Starscream, struggling to drag air through his vents.   
  
His spike stayed nestled in Starscream’s valve, which fluttered around it, sending little pings of pleasure to Blurr’s array. He purred, nuzzling into Starscream’s intake, laving it with little kisses and licks.   
  
Starscream’s hands stroked down his back, teasing around the base of his boosters. He hadn’t even bothered to disengage them, so eager had he been to take Starscream.   
  
Blurr grunted and tried to push himself upright. “I feel like I should apologize,” he said, with a crooked grin.   
  
“For what? Fragging me into a very nice overload?” Starscream quirked an orbital ridge at him, and his thighs squeezed inward, against Blurr’s sides. “If you really want to apologize, I’ll take a dedicated visit to the washracks.”   
  
Blurr chuckled and stole Starscream’s lips, gentling the kiss into something less ferocious and more appreciative. He hoped he hadn’t bruised Starscream further by forgetting himself. He had the sexiest, smartest lover in all of Cybertron. One who still tasted a bit like spilled energon.   
  
Starscream made a little noise in his intake, and it took all Blurr had not to start thrusting again, to enjoy the hot, clamp of Starscream’s valve, nestling him so sweetly.   
  
“Primus, you’re gorgeous,” Blurr muttered against his mouth, and let himself explore, nipping along the curve of Starscream’s jaw and over his sensitive audials. “So dangerous. So fierce. Could take you all night.”   
  
A tremble ran through Starscream’s frame. “Oh, is that so?” He rolled beneath Blurr, effortlessly sensuous. “Maybe you ought to prove it, Zippy.”   
  
Blurr choked out a laugh and forced himself back, sitting on his heels to admire the Seeker splayed out beneath him. He slipped free of Starscream’s valve in the process, fluids trickling in his wake.   
  
To think, there had once been a time Starscream hid his face from him, mortified by how he embraced pleasure. Now, he lay comfortably before Blurr, unashamed of his reaction. Proud, if Blurr had to give Starscream’s lazy recline a name.   
  
Starscream wasn’t an open datapad, not completely, but he was open to Blurr, and that was worth all the energon on the planet. He was himself, rather than an act, and that honesty was a precious gift Blurr had been given.   
  
So Blurr let himself admire, because he was the only person on Cybertron his Seeker allowed.   
  
Starscream looked, in a word, debauched. His arms were raised over his head, hands dangling behind him. Blue streaks of paint etched into his armor. His thighs and groin were spattered with fluids. His lips were swollen from Blurr’s kisses, and his face was pink with heat. The flecks of energon on his mouth and chin only added to the allure of him.   
  
Even if his nose was a little crooked. And his cheek puffy where Equalizer had struck him, plus the shadows of damaged nanites beneath his derma…   
  
It struck Blurr just then how much his sudden burst of need could be mistaken. Starscream didn’t talk much about his past with the Decepticons, and Blurr didn’t push, but he’d heard enough rumors to wonder if maybe he’d given the wrong impression. His focus on Starscream’s appearance, his post-fight high, could have been misread. And it wasn’t like Starscream would say anything if Blurr had upset him.   
  
Physical attacks could provoke screaming and yelling and violent retaliation. But when it came to emotional hurts? Starscream preferred to bury them deep and pretend they didn’t happen, rather than address them.   
  
Blurr worked his intake, guilt twisting and curling in his spark. Had he been clear? Or had he attacked and taken what he wanted? Frag, had he even asked permission? His short-term memories were a blur of lust, and now, he questioned them.   
  
“What?” Starscream asked, his lips curved, head tilted. “You look like you’re thinking something.”   
  
Blurr rapped his fingertips on the top of Starscream’s thighs. “I’m thinking I owe you a thanks,” he said, and cycled a ventilation. “Maybe an apology, too.”   
  
Starscream snorted. “For what?” His hips rolled toward Blurr’s fingers, as though trying to tempt him to touch. “That fragger had it coming.”   
  
“Mm. That he did.” Blurr stroked Starscream’s thighs, fingers curling around to tickle under Starscream’s knees, making Starscream squeak. Adorable. “But you know… it’s not because you’re beaten up that I wanted you, right?”   
  
Starscream furrowed his orbital ridges. “I don’t follow.” At least he looked genuinely confused. His ailerons kept flicking, as they often did when he was thinking.   
  
Blurr leaned in closer, perching over Starscream, brushing their noses together. “Have I ever told you how sexy you are when you go into full battle mode?” he asked. He shifted his weight to one hand on the back of the couch and dragged the fingers of his other hand lightly down Starscream’s side. “When I see you like that, I think it’s a miracle the Autobots technically won the war.”   
  
“You didn’t win.” Starscream sniffed, offended. “You took advantage of us when we were too weak and unaware to defend ourselves.”   
  
It was nothing Starscream hadn’t argued before. Blurr would have chuckled if he wasn’t trying to have a serious moment here.   
  
“You know what I meant,” Blurr said and sat back again, letting his hands pet over Starscream’s frame gently. Arousal still simmered in his lines, but he kept it banked. This was more important. “You’re really powerful, Star. And when you unleash it, that reminds me of how dangerous you actually are.”   
  
Starscream gave him a level look and tilted his head. “That’s because you’re a danger junkie,” he said, and his glossa flicked over his lips, catching a fleck of dried energon. “And I’m illicit goods.”   
  
“Is that so?” Blurr barked a laugh, his fingers tracing seams and following them from plate to plate.   
  
“It is.” Starscream’s engine thrummed, not unlike a purr. “Too bad I didn’t realize it sooner. I probably could have swayed you to oour side way back at the beginning.”   
  
Blurr snorted. “I doubt it. You’re not  _that_  tempting.”   
  
Starscream arched a ridge. “Want to bet?” He fluttered his optical shutters and rolled his hips in an illegal, sinuous fashion. “I know how to be persuasive now. I know your weaknesses,  _Zippy_.” He sucked his bottom lip into his mouth and let it pop free, glistening with oral lubricant.   
  
Blurr absolutely did not stare.   
  
He did, however, cycle a steadying ventilation and captured Starscream’s hands, curling his fingers around his wrists. “You are a menace,” he murmured.   
  
Starscream’s low, raspy chuckle made his spark throb. “Mmm. I know.”   
  
“You’re also being dense on purpose,” Blurr added as he slid his hands down Starscream’s arms, tickling into his elbows.   
  
Starscream squeaked and twitched, a wholly undignified sound. His face darkened with heat, and he clapped his hands over his mouth.   
  
“But I’m going to let that slide, because you’re being very adorable right now,” Blurr teased. Even if he would rather poke more at the Emotional Territory which tended to send a very skittish Starscream fleeing for the hills.   
  
Oh well.   
  
Blurr curved his hands under the backs of Starscream’s knees, tickling him and making Starscream squirm further.  
  
“Stop,” he gasped out, behind the shield of his hands. “I’m the leader of Cybertron. This is unfair! Undignified! Unlawful!” He squeaked again, optics growing bright and amused, his field flaring with affection.   
  
“Well, you know what they say,” Blurr curved his hands around those delectable thighs, giving them a squeeze. “Forbidden fruit tastes the sweetest.”   
  
Starscream snorted so hard he almost choked on a vent. “You’re ridiculous.” His hands drifted away from his mouth, betraying the amused tilt of his lips.   
  
He was nice and relaxed, Starscream was. Sexually satisfied and pliant, with none of the undercurrents of discomfort Blurr would have expected. Maybe he’d dodged a bullet here, or maybe he should double-check.   
  
Blurr threaded his hands with Starscream’s and tugged, pulling the Seeker into a sitting position that almost had Starscream in his lap. “So, what you’re saying is, the next time I wanna pounce you, I should?”   
  
“If tonight is any indication of what I should expect, then I don’t see why not.” Starscream tilted his head, suspicion leaking into his tone. “Though now that you’re acting suspicious, I wonder if I should rescind my permission.”   
  
Blurr nibbled along the curve of Starscream’s jaw because he could and it was right there, and he loved the way Starscream melted against him when he did it.   
  
This would be a lot easier if Starscream would stop playing dumb and realize what Blurr was trying to say here.   
  
“I meant,” Blurr continued, his words a warm ex-vent against Starscream’s plating, “that you can tell me ‘no.’ You don’t have to always say ‘yes.’”   
  
Starscream audibly cycled a ventilation, and there was resignation in his field now, like he realized Blurr wasn’t going to stop poking until he got a satisfactory response.  
  
“I’m well aware.” Starscream draped his hands over Blurr’s shoulders, playing with the connectors to his boosters with little pinches of his talons. “Trust me, I don’t like something, you’ll be the first to know. Loudly. Violently. Perhaps even painfully.”   
  
Blurr wasn’t sure Starscream would, actually. Sometimes, when it came to this fragile, delicate thing between them, Starscream was too willing to bend to Blurr’s will, rather than exert his own. Someone, somewhere, had taught him that the only way to make a relationship work was to always concede, and while Blurr wasn’t well-schooled in relationships either, he was pretty sure that wasn’t the answer.   
  
Granted, it’s partially Blurr’s fault. Every time they had a real argument, he’d walked. No wonder Starscream was uncertain around him. The slightest hint of making a point, and he probably worried Blurr would leave and never come back.   
  
Damn.   
  
Something to address on another day perhaps. Starscream was already twitchy and suspicious right now, and Blurr wanted to go back to the snuggly, flirtatious Starscream. He was skipping work for this after all.   
  
“Good.” Blurr pecked a kiss on the tip of Starscream’s nose, though he was gentle given its bruised state. “So long as you know that. Now let’s get you cleaned up. I believe I owe you some pampering.”   
  
Starscream’s engine purred. “Mmm. Yes, you do. After all, I’m the big, brave knight come to rescue my damsel in distress.”   
  
“I’m not, nor have I ever been, a damsel!” Blurr retorted with a roll of his optics. Though now he had a sudden image of himself dressed in a lacy pink dress.   
  
He snorted a laugh. It would probably make Starscream laugh, too.   
  
“But you have been in distress,” Starscream said with an arched optical ridge.   
  
Blurr opened his mouth to argue, only to snap it shut again. Starscream was right. Though to be fair, they both had their share of being ‘in distress.’   
  
“Come on.” He gave a tug to Starscream’s hands, refusing to concede. “Let’s go. Into the washracks.”  
  
Starscream wriggled off the couch. He yanked Blurr after him, effortless, like Blurr was a minibot and not a Racer with boosters attached. For someone so slim, Starscream was ridiculously strong. It was one of the many things Blurr loved about him.   
  
“I’ll let that slide for now,” Starscream said as he towed Blurr into the washrack, eager for pampering no doubt. Starscream loved to be spoiled.   
  
Blurr supposed he’d have to come clean the couch later. There were some, err, stains on it that the discerning guest would immediately recognize. Not that he and Starscream threw house parties or anything, and spies sneaking into their apartment were less of an issue now, thanks to Soundwave. But still… no need to be obscene about it.   
  
Starscream dropped Blurr’s hand and made a beeline for the solvent nozzle, his wings flicking upward with eagerness. Enjoyed a good bath, Starscream did.   
  
Blurr rummaged through their supplies for a decent mesh to use on Starscream’s face. Preferably a softer one. He didn’t want to irritate the damage.   
  
“You think they’re going to need you later tonight?” Starscream asked as the solvent spattered on, raining suds down on him, the foam sliding seductively down his frame. Then again, there was hardly anything Starscream did that wasn’t seductive in some way or another.   
  
Starscream was a walking wet dream. That fact had never been in question. There were few Autobots who wouldn’t admit to noticing. Blurr had certainly noticed, back then, though he’d always labeled Starscream as ‘dangerous, don’t touch’. He’d never told anyone he’d harbored so much as a kernel of lust for the delectable Air Commander, but he’d certainly wondered.   
  
He’d resisted. It had been important he resist. Blurr was an Autobot, an upstanding one. Starscream was danger and sin, wrapped in a pretty flying package. Blurr couldn’t be seen panting after a gorgeous pair of wings. He had a reputation. He had moral limitations.   
  
All of which crumbled eventually. He supposed that if you fought too hard against the things you wanted, eventually they sought you out on their own. It certainly wasn’t a loss.   
  
Honestly, it was a miracle Blurr hadn’t succumbed to the allure sooner. He’d let the first chance slip by out of a sense of moral righteousness; he’d almost passed on the second one for the same reason.   
  
Still. The moment Starscream sashayed into his bar, Blurr was reminded of all those fantasies. He’d started thinking about the many ways he could get beneath Starscream. Or vice versa. Now, he’d managed both. And he regretted none of it.   
  
He’d gotten a gorgeous lover out of it. And a more stable Cybertron.   
  
Win-win-win.   
  
“Blurr?” Starscream prodded him in the side.   
  
He blinked, and took a moment to rewind their conversation to remember what Starscream had last said. “  
  
No, I’m sure they’re fine,” he said, shaking his head to clear away his ruminations. He plucked out the softest mesh. “If they aren’t, then I must have hired the wrong people.”   
  
Starscream chuckled. “Good point. You did, after all, leave Jazz down there.” Blurr didn’t miss the twinge of bitterness in his tone.   
  
Blurr tried not to let the usual spike of jealousy linger in his spark. The past relationship between Jazz and Starscream was another topic he steered clear of, even though curiosity compelled him to determine the true nature of it. Whatever that relationship had meant to Starscream, he’d felt betrayed by Jazz’s help in constructing the council.   
  
So many layers his Seeker had. Blurr wondered if he’d ever peel them all away.   
  
He padded back to Starscream’s side, hand skimming over a solvent-damp thigh, begging for his touch. Starscream obediently turned toward him, his entire frame glistening with moisture, his optics smoldering.   
  
Blurr dampened the cloth in the spray. “Come here,” he murmured as he gently cupped Starscream’s face. “You got this for me. It’s only fair I clean it up.”   
  
Starscream went still, his optics brightening by a degree. “Am I mess to tidy?”   
  
“Yeah. My mess.” Blurr’s grin was crooked. He hoped Starscream read the affection in his tone as he carefully dabbed at the crusty energon on Starscream’s face. “This doesn’t hurt, does it?”   
  
Starscream’s head shifted in Blurr’s hold, as though he meant to shake it, before he changed his mind. “No. It’s been broken before. I’ve had worse.”   
  
“Should have Wheeljack look at it anyway.” Blurr’s spark gave a pang.   
  
Starscream refused to talk about his past most of the time. But sometimes, he’d let things slip. Little details he hadn’t realized he’d revealed. Blurr didn’t want to imagine what ‘other pains’ were considered worse.   
  
“You do realize Wheeljack’s not actually a medic?”   
  
“Yeah, but you trust him more than Flatline.”   
  
“True, but I can’t very well say that, can I?”   
  
The meshcloth wiped away the last of the energon, leaving Starscream clean and fresh. And totally kissable. So Blurr followed through with the urge by brushing his lips over Starscream’s.   
  
Starscream made a small noise of delight. His glossa flicked out over Blurr’s lips, no longer sore apparently. One kiss became two, and then became half a dozen. Blurr hummed into it and found his back hitting the wall under the spray, Starscream pressed up against him, hands slick with solvent as they skated up his sides.   
  
“Oh, is it time for round two already?” Blurr asked as Starscream kissed down to his intake, leaving little nibbles in his wake.   
  
Starscream laughed against his cables. “It’s always time for the next round.” His hands lingered on Blurr’s hips, thumbs sweeping circles against his pelvic armor.   
  
Blurr chuckled and leaned against the wall, a bit awkward with his boosters attached. “Mm. I’m that irresistible, am I?”   
  
“From time to time.” Starscream’s mouth wandered back up to Blurr’s, stealing another wet kiss. “Though I do think round two should be on a berth.”   
  
“No longer feeling adventurous?” Blurr teased as he pressed their foreheads together. Solvent continued to patter down on them. It was a waste, but honestly, if Starscream was feeling playful and cuddly, Blurr had no interest in distracting him.   
  
Clever talons slipped into the seams around Blurr’s hips, teasing the cables beneath. “Not for what I have in mind.”   
  
“Oh? And what’s that?” All sorts of scenarios popped into Blurr’s mind, and his engine gave a little rev.   
  
Starscream nuzzled him, lips a wet kiss over Blurr’s audial. “I want to spike you,” he breathed warmly, his words sending a shiver down Blurr’s spinal strut. “I want you to overload so many times you blow a fuse.” He slipped a knee between Blurr’s legs, grinding his thigh against Blurr’s valve panel.   
  
Blurr groaned, his spark cycling faster. He clutched Starscream, his spike thumping against his panel. “You’ll get no argument from me.”   
  
“I didn’t think I would, you little hedonist.” Starscream nipped his audial and swept his thumbs inward, the pads of them brushing over Blurr’s spike panel. “Still want to get clean?”   
  
Blurr snorted a laugh. “When we’re about to get dirty? What’s the point? I can spoil you later.”   
  
Starscream chuckled and put a little more pressure against Blurr’s panel, making his valve clench hard with need. “You can spoil me anytime,” he purred and nibbled his way back to Blurr’s lips them for a deep, scorching kiss.   
  
Blurr wrapped his arms over Starscream’s shoulders and pulled him in close. Maybe they’d make it out of the washracks, maybe they wouldn’t. Honestly, it didn’t matter.   
  
This, right here, was perfect as it was.   
  


~

  
  
Blurr had to go back to the bar and check on things, responsible business owner that he was. He hadn’t wanted to, at first, but Starscream assured him he’d be fine. Blurr had practically wrapped him into a blanket and tucked him onto the couch with a lingering kiss and nuzzle and a warm promise to return.   
  
Starscream snorted and shooed him on. It was a bar fight, not a full blown battle. He didn’t need a nannybot hovering.   
  
Blurr’s absence made the silence unsettling. Music played in the background, a soft, wordless tune that should have been soothing. Starscream plucked at the blanket, processor replaying the night’s events over and over.   
  
He wondered how many of those mechs had recorded the altercation. How many of them had seen their leader turn into a mindless echo of violence. How many of them had decided, then and there, they were glad for the council, because Starscream was still dangerous and not to be trusted.   
  
How far back had he set himself in the optics of his people?   
  
His comm pinged.   
  
Starscream braced himself and checked the ident code on it, expecting to see Prowl or Soundwave or Bumblebee or even Needlenose, all with some chastisement prepared. He knew how fast rumors could travel.   
  
It was none of them.   
  
He accepted the ping.   
  
“Starscream!” Wheeljack’s cheerful voice bubbled into Starscream’s comm, though it was tinted with worry. “Everything okay? You need me to come over?”   
  
Starscream sank deeper into the couch. “Blurr called you.”   
  
“No. I commed him actually. I saw the news.” Wheeljack vented into the comm. In the background, something bubbled and clicked and possibly steamed – all audible to Starscream’s trained audials. “That break looked pretty bad. You need me to come set it?”   
  
“News?” Starscream echoed. The dread pooled heavier in his tanks. “And no, it’s fine. I set it myself. It’s not the first time.” Honestly, he was surprised his nasal ridge functioned, given how many times it had been broken.   
  
Most of them by Megatron.   
  
“You haven’t seen it?” Wheeljack sounded hesitant. “Um, are you near a vidscreen? It’s been running pretty non-stop. Gotta admit, I’m glad to see you still got it in you.”   
  
Starscream sat up and groped around for the remote, finally locating it between the couch cushions. Of all the things Blurr couldn’t be bothered to make tidy…  
  
He clicked on the screen and was almost bombarded with the noise of a news report. He quickly muted it and turned on the subtitles in enough time to see amateur footage of him slugging Equalizer in clear technicolor. His spark tightened into a knot.   
  
“I see,” Starscream said.   
  
He ground his denta as the footage flickered and abruptly switched to another point of view – Starscream glaring as Equalizer’s visor flashed, and then Equalizer throwing a punch. It was more amateur footage, obviously taken by one of the many witnesses at the bar.   
  
“You sure you’re okay?” Wheeljack asked, and Primus, as much as Starscream was touched to hear the concern in Wheeljack’s voice, Starscream didn’t want his pity right now. Or his reassurances.   
  
Not while despair roared in Starscream’s audials, and all he could see was the people’s trust turning to shattered glass around him.   
  
Starscream worked his intake. “I’m fine. Thanks for asking. I’ll contact you in the morning, Wheeljack.”   
  
He ended the comm before Wheeljack could ask again. And then he logged himself as unavailable before Prowl or Soundwave or anyone else irritating could start demanding answers and offering accusations.  
  
He turned the volume back on, bracing himself for the worst. He clutched the blanket tighter around his frame.   
  
“--altercation earlier this evening at New Maccadam’s,” the reporter said as he stood in front of the building, Starscream’s residential tower rising like a gleaming sentinel behind him. “Multiple witnesses stated that Starscream was seen physically engaged with one of the customers before the mech was dragged out of the bar and turned over to enforcer custody.”  
  
There was a grainy image of Equalizer in magna-cuffs, mid-step as he was shoved into the back of a patrol transport. Jazz stood nearby, arms folded under his bumper.   
  
The knot in Starscream’s tanks turned to nausea. He gnawed on the inside of his cheek, curling deeper into his blanket.   
  
“We were able to grab an interview with one of the bartenders on shift tonight,” the reporter continued before he nodded to the camera. The feed switched to a pre-taped interview, though it couldn’t have been that long ago.   
  
Starscream expected to see Jazz, smoothly controlling the situation as usual, no doubt twisting it into his favor. He was surprised, instead, to see a brightly grinning Bluestreak on the screen.   
  
“Oh, I can talk now?” Bluestreak said as he looked at someone off camera before he focused on the camera itself. “Okay. Right. First of all, the mech was Equalizer and he’s been warned before.” He planted one hand on his hip and shook the other at the screen as though chastising the viewers. “He’s harassed other customers, and honestly, if Starscream hadn’t done it, I probably would have. He drugged one of the drinks!”   
  
Bluestreak’s optics went big and round and innocent, his expression bleeding worry and outrage. “I was so mad when I found out.” He threw his hands in the air, the very picture of outrage. “He could have hurt someone. If you ask me, Starscream was only doing his civic duty. He was protecting all of us.”   
  
Bluestreak paused and lowered his hands. Hhis orbital ridges drew down as he listened to someone off-screen, their voice a low murmur. Then his grin widened, and he chuckled.   
  
“Well, yeah, he was protecting Blurr, too.” Bluestreak giggled, somehow managing to sound charming rather than irritating. “They’re really sweet together.”   
  
Oh, Primus.   
  
Starscream’s face burned.   
  
The feed switched back to the reporter, who kept talking, but the words buzzed in Starscream’s audials like so much static. He didn’t know if Bluestreak had helped or hurt their cause.   
  
Another mech walked into view, eager for ten minutes of fame as he agreed to an on-air interview. He had no kibble to speak off – a monoformer perhaps, and his armor was a tasteful, polished silver. He was plain in every way.   
  
“Sure I was there,” the badgeless Neutral said with an accent Starscream didn’t recognize. “But Starscream didn’t attack until he got hit first. And then it was all over but the funeral.”   
  
“Do you think that means we should be afraid of our leader? That he’s dangerous?” the reporter asked, a legitimate if not leading question.   
  
The Neutral laughed, crackling and loud. “He’s certainly dangerous to anyone who thinks they can get away with being a nuisance. It’s about time someone said enough was enough. Too many mechs around here think they can put their hands wherever they want.” He shifted his weight from foot to foot, and kept glancing at the camera like he wanted it to catch his good side.   
  
“You saw the assault in question then?”   
  
“The what?” The Neutral peered at the reporter like he’d been insulted. “I saw the mech grab Blurr. I’ve seen him grope other mechs before. I’m not surprised he was caught trying to drug drinks. He’s bad news.”   
  
The reporter – Starscream really needed to learn the mech’s name, perhaps he could be persuaded to be more complimentary – hummed a noncommittal noise. “Then you approve of Starscream’s actions?”   
  
“Frag yeah.”   
  
Starscream blinked.   
  
“We need a leader who’s willing to stand up for us, even about the little things.” The Neutral grinned, and even if he was missing a few denta, it was the most charming smile Starscream had ever seen. “He’s got my vote.”   
  
“We, er, didn’t actually have an election.”   
  
The Neutral shrugged. “So?”   
  
The front door clicked open. Starscream quickly muted the monitor as Blurr came inside, locking it behind him. He inched into view from the hallway, only to pause as he caught sight of Starscream. He blinked, forehead drawing down.   
  
“What?” Starscream asked.   
  
“You’re smiling.” Blurr’s lips broke into a grin as he started moving again, heading straight for the couch. “Something good happen?”   
  
Starscream tilted his head toward the screen, where the reporter had moved on to speaking directly to the camera rather than another witness. He offered more questions to his viewers, about whether or not this was a sign Cybertronians as a species were violent and if violence was an acceptable response and blah, blah, blah.   
  
Blurr crawled onto the couch with Starscream before he glanced at the screen. “Oh. That. Yeah, Blue told me they interviewed him and a few other customers. I figured it would get out eventually.”   
  
“You’re not worried?”   
  
“About what?” Blurr shrugged and flopped down on top of Starscream, tucking his head up under Starscream’s chin, crest and all.   
  
“Being seen associated with someone so violent.”   
  
Blurr snorted and tangled their legs together, quite a feat considering the blanket still wrapped around Starscream’s frame. “We’re all violent, Star. We survived a war, and most of us were soldiers. Frankly, that you didn’t just shoot him in the spark then and there is progress. Not that I’d have blamed you if you did. Should’ve shot him myself.”   
  
Starscream stared at him. His hands dragged down Blurr’s back, feeling the steady hum of his lover’s engine, and the warm curl of Blurr’s field against his.   
  
“But we have enforcers for that,” Blurr wriggled harder like he wanted to recharge right there, as uncomfortable as it was for them to fit on the narrow couch. “We’re trying to build some kind of society, so I guess that means we have to do a more civilized justice. Whatever that means.”  
  
Starscream stroked around his boosters. “You would’ve killed him?”   
  
“If he’d grabbed you like that? If I’d found you after he’d drugged you and dragged you off somewhere? Frag right I would’ve.”   
  
Warmth flooded Starscream’s spark. He rubbed the underside of his chin over Blurr’s crest, feeling his lover shiver. “Perhaps I am not the bloodthirsty one in this relationship then.”   
  
Blurr laughed. “I told you already. I’m not as pure as you think I am. None of us Autobots are. In the end, there’s not much difference between the two factions.” He cycled a soft ventilation. “We’re all capable of the same mistakes.”   
  
“Indeed.” Starscream settled back into the couch and turned his attention back to the screen. Words ran along the bottom as the reporter interviewed another mech, this one with a more judgmental view of the whole thing.   
  
Non-violent crisis management, he spouted. Probably sent by Prowl or Soundwave then. As if any of them were trained in such a thing.   
  
There would always be detractors. But that there weren’t only detractors was what had surprised Starscream. He expected the airwaves to be filled with nothing but disgust and anger toward his behavior.   
  
The amount of support was surprising. And very welcome.   
  
Perhaps things were changing after all.   
  


***


End file.
